Yengo Sculpture Garden

Yengo is a garden at Mt Wilson featuring sculptures by English sculptors Judith Holmes Drewry and Lloyd le Blanc.

Yengo was first purchased by Jesse Gregson in 1877. It was laid out with the assistance of the Director of the Sydney Botanic Gardens, Charles Moore and the Govt Botanist J H Maiden. Yengo is an alpine garden with over 140 year old trees such as sequoia, cedar of Lebanon and Spanish cork. It is enhanced by sculptures created by English sculptors Judith Holmes Drewry and Lloyd le Blanc, which have been collected over the years. The garden is open in aid of Australia’s first endangered species reserve which has been in place since 1969.

The stone house and garden of ‘Yengo’ has been restored by the owners Peter and Ann Pigott. There are several 100 year old conifers from the Himalayas and North America including: Deodars (Cedrus deodara) and Western Red Cedars (Thuja plicata) which were all planted about 1880. The garden at the rear of the house has also been restored and there is an interesting range of plants in the garden. These include Clematis montana and a white wisteria (Wisteria brachybotrys ‘Alba’) which has a wonderful scent and also Wisteria floribunda ‘Macrobotrys’ a Japanese form which has been trained over a pergola.

The garden of ‘Yengo’ is a beautiful setting for some very beautiful garden sculptures. The pieces are the work of two international sculptors, Lloyd Le Blanc and Judith Holmes Drewry, who both work in bronze. Both people, says garden owner Peter Pigott, are leading sculptors who are based in England.

Lloyd Le Blanc is renowned for his sculptures of animals. They are so carefully formed that they seem real. Judith Holmes Drewry (died 2011) was a leading portrait sculptor who had a real feeling for depicting the female form through her amazing bronze work.